Think about the following statements by or about the former CEOs of companies that had accounting fraud: Ken Lay from Enron; Bernie Ebbers from WorldCom; and John Rigas from Adelphia:
“Enron was an enormous corporation. How could I have known everything going on everywhere in the company?” “You have to rely; you have to trust people. You have to believe. You have to delegate …signed off on the information based on what was provided to me. And what I was told.”
“Bernie Ebbers did not know about the accounting decisions of Scott Sullivan to reassign billions of dollars.”
“John Rigas had a right to trust and rely on professionals and his own staff to get the financials right.”
Before you respond, make sure you read and cite to the “Discussion Board Links” I have provided under the “Required Resources” section of this week’s materials under “Modules.”
Start by describing who these three individuals are and what exactly happened in each of their situations.
Then answer ALL of the following questions:
Are the CEOs responsible for knowing what goes on at their companies?
Are they able to find out what is happening?
Are they criminally responsible?
Are they ethically responsible?
